Russian attitudes toward AI chatbots and regulatory considerations
A recent survey reveals that a large majority of Russians favor having a native analogue of the chatGPT platform, with 78% expressing this preference. A smaller portion, 22%, believes the American model already offers sufficiently capable features. The findings come from a comprehensive poll conducted by Rambler&Co involving a substantial sample of 250,000 participants.
Trust in Western AI systems remains a significant concern for many respondents. More than half, 57%, reported doubts about the information security of Western chatbots, while 43% indicated they were not worried about data security concerns.
Public support for AI governance is evident as well. About 60% of those surveyed said that AI should be subject to legislation. A quarter of respondents, 24%, would defer regulatory decisions to experts, while 16% opposed any restrictions on AI development.
When it comes to practical applications, Russians showed clear preferences for interacting with chatbots across several sectors. The entertainment industry tops the list with 34% of respondents seeking chatbot engagement in that area, followed by the household sector at 31%, finance at 22%, and retail at 13%.
The survey also sheds light on the tasks users are willing to delegate to AI. Information retrieval and web searches are prominent, with 32% and 26% respectively indicating readiness to rely on a chatbot for information gathering and translating foreign texts into Russian. Daily-life tasks also appear on the radar, including content creation such as text writing (15%), programming assistance (10%), and suggestions for movies or music (8%). A smaller but notable share expresses interest in recipe recommendations (5%) and help with diet or workout planning (4%).
The data were gathered from Rambler&Co media resources between April 18 and April 21, 2023, drawing on responses from 249,246 users aged 18 to 45 years. The scale of the study supports a broad view of public sentiment toward AI in Russia during that period.
Earlier reports highlighted that major tech players are pursuing in-house AI development strategies. It was noted that Sber and SberDevices have begun active testing of their own chatGPT-like models. According to Denis Filippov, the CEO of SberDevices, the company has released several sizeable language models since 2019, including architectures based on transformers. This progress underscores a broader trend toward domestically developed AI capabilities within the region, alongside international offerings, as organizations explore partnerships and competitive options in a rapidly evolving field.